Cruising Vietnam's Halong Bay
Brian and I went on an overnight 2 day, 1 night Halong Bay cruise via Swan Cruises. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and compares to Mendoza's wine region in "Wow" factor.
We chose a cruise that went on the Bai Tu Long route, east of Halong Bay. Halong Bay is known for being overrun with cruise boats and tourists who party and trash the bay. Bai Tu Long on the other hand is quieter, pristine, and only a few boating companies are licensed to cruise that path.
The jelly fish that our tour guide Jenny said would be delicious
Our tour guide, Jenny, was a 31 year old mother of 2. She was outgoing, spoke very good English, and loved her job. The funniest and most culturally shocking part was seeing her talk about what kind of meat was good to eat in Vietnam:
"You see those dogs on the beach? If you want to eat them, just ask the chef to cook them."
We all stared at her in disbelief.
"You don't believe me? Dog meat is good luck! Good luck, better than cow and pig!"
And then there was the time there was a huge jelly fish in the water while Brian and others swam in the open water.
"Jelly fish is so delicious!" (Pointing to a staff member to catch the jelly fish.) "He is going to catch the jelly fish so we can eat it. 30 days to dry poison. Very delicious."
In addition to our very animated tour guide Jenny and her funny stories about dog meat and jelly fish meat, some of the sights I'll never forget and so glad we captured on camera:
Pristine still waters,
Fishing boats and small villages
Majestic rock formations
Beautiful sunsets
Brian went for a swim in the warm waters, and also went kayaking. I skipped out on kayaking because it was pouring rain.
My favorite part about the cruise was laying out on the upper deck at night watching the lightning that lit up the night sky. The sky lit up in hues of purple and dark blue against the majestic rock formations.
The next morning, Brian went kayaking in the waters with the other passengers. I opted out because it was raining hard.
Brian said it was one of the highlight of Halong Bay kayaking next to the majestic rock formations, and kayaking into caves.
Even though it was raining hard and pouring throughout our cruise, the views were still stunning.
Halong Bay is officially one of our favorite places in the world.